My Story

Intro

The challenges confronting Bangladesh today are immense, complex and disparate. Bangladesh is threatened by climate change and ecological devastation, terrorism, chronic poverty and widening socio-political and economic inequities. There is a pressing need for courageous, compassionate and intelligent leadership in Bangladesh, to provide innovative, sustainable and practicable solutions to these problems and act as the vehicle for social change. Ejaj is developing the next generation of young leaders in Bangladesh in his Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center.

About Me

The choices that I have made in my life have been largely shaped by my family’s commitment to public service, my education in some of the leading schools in the world, and my exposure in some of the poorest villages in rural Bangladesh. Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center, or BYLC, is the materialization of a youthful dream I’ve held close to my heart for many years.

As a ten-year old boy in 1991, when Bangladesh was worst hit by flood, I embarked on my first leadership role. I took three friends and ran a fund-raising campaign in the neighborhood and raised Taka 7,000 for my father’s Rotary Club. Such spirit continued throughout my teens, when I assisted my father in organizing various community service projects and health camps in my village. Debating from a young age I was drawn to standing at the podium, and I chose to study at St. Andrews because of its long heritage of developing strong orators. There, I was heavily involved in student politics and held elected position in the students’ union. A defining moment in my own understanding of leadership came in my final year when I ran to be the first non-white president of the ancient union. I came third in a close run race. The experience taught me two valuable lessons of leadership – restraint and humility.

I chose to return to Bangladesh after St. Andrews because I wanted to serve my country. I started my career as an economist, working for several World Bank/UNDP and Bangladesh Government projects. However, I was soon exposed to the cycle of complexities that beset the socio-economic and political culture of Bangladesh. I felt that the country needed more than mere quick technical recommendations. For real change to happen, Bangladesh needed a change in the quality of leadership across multiple sectors. It was this realization that encouraged me to enroll at Harvard in the Master in Public Policy program. There I studied leadership for two years and I was fortunate to have world renowned professors of leadership as my mentors. They gave me the courage to turn down lucrative offers in the West and provided the inspiration to embark on a new journey - a journey to change the quality of leadership in my country by training the next generation of leaders.

Bringing the leadership center to life has been challenging. Choosing to live without a steady paycheck and working from a small room in my father’s apartment meant that I have had to disappoint both friends and family. However, the opportunity to work with young people and help them realize their potential has also been inspiring. My work at BYLC has added meaning to my life. And if I could write my story again, I wouldn’t do it any other way.

My Venture

The vision of BYLC is a poverty-free Bangladesh, driven forward by the next generation of home-grown leaders. The mission of BYLC is to imbue in young people a strong sense of national identity and civic responsibility, which will energize them to actively work for the betterment of their communities.

BYLC’s signature month-long program, Building Bridges through Leadership Training, developed at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, unites dynamic, smart and socially conscious young people from diverse educational, socio-economic and religious backgrounds.
Our month-long youth leadership program has three components:

1. Building Bridges – we do this by uniting students from diverse educational, socio-economic and religious backgrounds.
2. Leadership Training – we help our students develop leadership skills through large class discussions and small group reflection sessions.
3. Community Service – action is central to our program and we help our students apply their skills and knowledge in a real life setting by implementing service projects in poor areas of their city.

With initial support from the US Embassy and the British High Commission in Bangladesh, BYLC is fast emerging as the hub for future bright minds of Bangladesh to pioneer and engage in creative, innovative and genius ideas and activities.